Safety device of a lighter

ABSTRACT

A safety device of a lighter including a main body having a fuel reservoir, a base seat, an arrester mounted in the main body, an ignition system controlled by the arrester, a valve member for opening/closing the fuel reservoir and a press section arranged on the base seat and having a suspension arm. The press section is movable and rotatable in a set path for driving the arrester. A stopper block is disposed in the set path for interfering with the rotation of the press section or the suspension arm or preventing the press section or the suspension arm from rotating. The press section is selectively movable to release the suspension arm from the interference of the stopper block, permitting the press section to be turned for ignition.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is related to a lighter having simple structure and easily operable, and more particularly to an improved safety device installed on a lighter.

There are various types of safety devices installed on lighters for preventing the lighters from being unexpectedly ignited by children. For example, Taiwanese Patent Application No. 91203578 discloses a fixing bracket of a lighter. Taiwanese Patent Application No. 88102379 discloses a safety device of a lighter. Taiwanese Patent Application No. 85106865 discloses a lighter with protective ring. Taiwanese Patent Application No. 88220694 discloses an improved gas reservoir of a lighter. Taiwanese Patent Application No. 90216111 discloses a childproof safety device of a lighter. Taiwanese Patent Application No. 85200409 discloses a casing of a lighter. Taiwanese Patent Application No. 91208302 discloses a dislocation safety lighter.

Another conventional safety lighter includes a dog. A user can push the dog with the thumb and disengage the dog from the casing of the lighter. Under such circumstance, the user can press a press key to ignite the lighter. Such structure has some shortcomings. For example, the assembly of the press section and the dog is complicated and the dog must be transversely pushed. When transversely pushing the dog, an operator's thumb must be vertically placed over or in the axis of the lighter. Therefore, it is inconvenient for the operator to transversely push the dog with the thumb.

Taiwanese Patent Application No. 81216824 discloses a safety lighter with a security bar. The lighter has a press section which can be resiliently moved upward for igniting the lighter. A projecting bar is connected under the press section. A recessed shoulder section is formed between the press section and the projecting bar. A security bar is disposed on a base section of the upper frame near the fuel container. The security bar can be pulled downward. The press section is supported by a restoring spring. The security bar outward transversely extends to connect with an elongated bar and form a latch section for latching with the recessed shoulder section. The projecting bar can be biased to arrest the press section. Such design minimizes the possibility of unexpected ignition of the lighter by children. However, the structure of the lighter is complicated and the manufacturing cost is higher.

It is therefore tried by the applicant to provide a safety device of a lighter which has simplified structure and can be conveniently operated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide a safety device of a lighter which has simplified structure and can be easily operated. The safety device includes a main body having a fuel reservoir, a base seat, an arrester mounted in the main body, an ignition system controlled by the arrester, a valve member for opening/closing the fuel reservoir and a press section arranged on the base seat and having a suspension arm. The press section is movable and rotatable in a set path for driving the arrester. A stopper block is disposed in the set path for interfering with the rotation of the press section or the suspension arm or preventing the press section or the suspension arm from rotating. The press section is selectively movable to release the suspension arm from the interference of the stopper block, permitting the press section to be turned for ignition.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide the above safety device of the lighter in which the suspension arm of the press section is formed with a wedge hole and at least one notch. A stake is fitted through the stake hole of the base seat and the wedge hole of the suspension arm for fixing the press section and the suspension arm on the base seat. The stake is movable within the wedge hole of the suspension arm with the press section moving in the set path until the notch of the suspension arm moves to the position of the stopper block. In this position, by means of the notch, the press section can avoid the stopper block and be turned for ignition.

The present invention can be best understood through the following description and accompanying drawings wherein:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective partially sectional view of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective exploded view of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a partially sectional side view of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a view according to FIG. 3, in which the press section of the present invention is pressed down;

FIG. 5 is a view according to FIG. 3, in which the press section of the present invention is turned for ignition; and

FIG. 6 is a perspective partially sectional view of another embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Please refer to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3. The safety device of the lighter of the present invention includes a main body 10 having a fuel reservoir 11, a base seat 20 disposed at an upper open end 12 of the main body 10, an arrester 30 mounted in the main body 10, an ignition system 40 controlled by the arrester 30 and a valve member 50 for opening/closing the fuel reservoir 11. The base seat 20 has a symmetrically extending bottom section 21 formed with a stake hole 22. FIG. 3 shows that a resilient member 70 always forcedly positions an activation section 31 of the arrester 30 in a home position.

A press section 60 is arranged on the base seat 20. The press section 60 is movable and rotatable in a set path for driving the activation section 31 of the arrester 30. The press section 60 includes a suspension arm 61 having a linking section 63. The suspension arm 61 is formed with a wedge hole 62. The suspension arm 61 is further formed with at least one notch 64. Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, a stake 80 is fitted through the stake hole 22 of the base seat and the wedge hole 62 of the suspension arm for fixing the press section 60 and the suspension arm 61 on the base seat 20. A gap x is defined between the press section 60 and the base seat 20. A stopper block 23 is formed on the base seat 20 in the set path of the press section 60 for interfering with the rotation of the press section 60 or the suspension arm 61 or preventing the press section 60 or suspension arm 61 from rotating.

In a preferred embodiment, the stopper block 23 nearly perpendicularly projects from the bottom section 21 of the base seat. The stake 80 is relatively movable within the wedge hole 62 of the suspension arm 61 for moving the press section 60 in the set path until the notch 64 of the suspension arm moves to the position of the stopper block 23. In this position, by means of the notch 64, the press section 60 can avoid the stopper block 23 and be turned. Accordingly, the suspension arm 61 can be selectively released from the interference of the stopper block 23, permitting the press section 60 to be turned for ignition. (This will be further described hereinafter.)

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the stake hole 22 of the base seat 20 has the same circular cross-sectional shape of the stake 80. The wedge hole 62 of the suspension arm has a substantially rectangular or elliptic cross-sectional shape having an upper arc end 65 and a lower arc end 66. FIG. 3 shows that the safety device of the lighter is positioned in its home position. The stake 80 is positioned at the lower arc end 66 of the wedge hole 62 of the suspension arm. Under such circumstance, the stopper block 23 interrupts the rotational path of the suspension arm 61 so that the press section 60 cannot be turned.

When an operator presses down the press section 60, the suspension arm 61 is moved downward as shown in FIG. 4. At this time, the stake 80 is relatively moved to the upper arc end 65 of the wedge hole 62 and the notch 64 of the suspension arm 64 is moved to the position of the stopper block 23. Under such circumstance, by means of the notch 64, the interference between the stopper block 23 and the suspension arm 61 is discharged and the press section 60 can avoid the stopper block 23 and be turned as shown in FIG. 5. FIG. 5 also shows that after turned, the linking section 63 of the suspension arm 61 of the press section depresses the activation section 31 of the arrester 30 to activate the ignition system 40 and make the valve member 50 open the fuel reservoir 11 to release fuel. When the operation force disappears, the resilient member 70 pushes the activation section 31 back to its home position, whereby the suspension arm 61 and the press sect ion 60 are restored to their home position as shown in FIG. 3.

It should be noted that the gap x between the press section 60 and the base seat 20 is approximately equal to the travel of the stake 80 within the wedge hole 62.

FIG. 6 shows another embodiment of the present invention, in which the stopper block 23 is formed on a pillar 13 of upper section of the fuel reservoir 11 still in the set path of the press section 60 or the suspension arm 61.

In conclusion, with simplified structure, the safety device of the lighter of the present invention provides a childproof security effect to ensure safety in use of the lighter.

The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the present invention, not intended to limit the scope thereof. Many modifications of the above embodiments can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. 

1. A safety device of a lighter comprising a main body having a fuel reservoir, a base seat, an arrester mounted in the main body, an ignition system controlled by the arrester, a valve member for opening/closing the fuel reservoir and a press section arranged on the base seat and having a suspension arm, the press section being movable and rotatable in a set path for driving the arrester, a stopper block being disposed in the set path for interfering with the rotation of the press section or the suspension arm or preventing the press section or the suspension arm from rotating, the press section being selectively movable to release the suspension arm from the interference of the stopper block, permitting the press section to be turned for ignition.
 2. The safety device of the lighter as claimed in claim 1, wherein the stopper block nearly perpendicularly projects from a bottom section of the base seat.
 3. The safety device of the lighter as claimed in claim 1, wherein the suspension arm of the press section has a linking section and is formed with a wedge hole and at least one notch.
 4. The safety device of the lighter as claimed in claim 3, wherein the wedge hole of the suspension arm has a substantially elliptic shape having an upper arc end and a lower arc end.
 5. The safety device of the lighter as claimed in claim 1, wherein the press section is movable in the set path until the notch of the suspension arm moves to the position of the stopper block, where by means of the notch, the suspension arm is released from the interference of the stopper block and the press section can avoid the stopper block and be turned for ignition.
 6. The safety device of the lighter as claimed in claim 1, wherein the base seat is disposed at an upper open end of the main body and has a symmetrically extending bottom section formed with a stake hole.
 7. The safety device of the lighter as claimed in claim 4, wherein a stake is fitted through the stake hole of the base seat and the wedge hole of the suspension arm for fixing the press section and the suspension arm on the base seat.
 8. The safety device of the lighter as claimed in claim 1, wherein a gap is defined between the press section and the base seat.
 9. The safety device of the lighter as claimed in claim 7, wherein the stake is selectively movable between the upper and lower arc ends of the wedge hole of the suspension arm.
 10. The safety device of the lighter as claimed in claim 1, wherein the stopper block is formed on a pillar of upper section of the fuel reservoir.
 11. The safety device of the lighter as claimed in claim 10, wherein the stopper block nearly perpendicularly projects from the pillar of the fuel reservoir. 